Weird error with eqnarray

Question

The following piece of code

\begin{eqnarray*}
\expval[\mathcal{N}] &= \frac{\rho_0}{\rho_1} ~, &
\var(\mathcal{N}) &= \frac{\rho_0}{\rho_1} + 0.280 \, \frac{\rho_0^2}{\rho_1^2} ~, \\
\expval[\mathcal{L}] &= \frac{\rho_0}{2 \rho_1^{3/2}} ~, &
\var(\mathcal{L}) &= \frac{\rho_0}{\pi \rho_1^2} + 0.147 \, \frac{\rho_0^2}{\rho_1^3} ~.
\end{eqnarray*}

gives the following error.

! Missing $ inserted. <inserted text> 
                $ l.34 \var(\mathcal{N}) &= \frac{\rho_0}{\rho_1}
                                                + 0.280 \, \frac{\rho_0^2}{\...

I have defined \expval and \var in the document preamble as follows.

\newcommand{\expval}{\mathbb{E}}
\newcommand{\var}{\mathrm{Var}}

Just wondering what the issue could be.

The use of eqnarray is outdated and should be replaced by something more advanced; offered in the form of align from amsmath. Moreover, eqnarray only allows a singular alignment, while you're attempting to align more than one equation (further motivating the use of align). — Werner, Mar 29 '12 at 06:53
@Werner, ahh. I had ever only used eqnarray once, so didn't know it had that limitation! Thank you! — nickpapior, Mar 29 '12 at 07:00

score 7 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 11 '17 at 09:31

You should rather use align* from amsmath:

enter image description here

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsfonts}% http://ctan.org/pkg/amsfonts
\usepackage{amsmath}% http://ctan.org/pkg/amsmath
\newcommand{\expval}{\mathbb{E}}
\newcommand{\var}{\mathrm{Var}}
\begin{document}
\begin{align*}
\expval[\mathcal{N}] &= \frac{\rho_0}{\rho_1} ~, &
\var(\mathcal{N}) &= \frac{\rho_0}{\rho_1} + 0.280 \, \frac{\rho_0^2}{\rho_1^2} ~, \\
\expval[\mathcal{L}] &= \frac{\rho_0}{2 \rho_1^{3/2}} ~, &
\var(\mathcal{L}) &= \frac{\rho_0}{\pi \rho_1^2} + 0.147 \, \frac{\rho_0^2}{\rho_1^3} ~.
\end{align*}
\end{document}

See more discussion on this topic from \eqnarray vs \align.

score 3 · Answer 2 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:34

I am not too sure about the error in eqnarray however, first I suggest you read:

Eqnarray vs align

and realize that eqnarray is really bad for you! :)

Then you should notice that whenever you need to define a function (or operator) it is best to do so by \DeclareMathOperator. That will yield better spacing for you.

Also better let TeX do the spacing. Just my opinion. :)

So in effect you can do:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{amsmath,amsfonts}
\DeclareMathOperator{\expval}{\mathbb{E}}
\DeclareMathOperator{\var}{Var}
\begin{document}
\begin{align*}
  \expval[\mathcal{N}] &= \frac{\rho_0}{\rho_1}        , &
  \var(\mathcal{N})    &= \frac{\rho_0}{\rho_1}+0.280 \frac{\rho_0^2}{\rho_1^2}, 
  \\ % Next line
  \expval[\mathcal{L}] &= \frac{\rho_0}{2 \rho_1^{3/2}} , &
  \var(\mathcal{L})    &= \frac{\rho_0}{\pi \rho_1^2} + 0.147 \frac{\rho_0^2}{\rho_1^3}.
\end{align*}

\end{document}

score 1 · Answer 3 · edited Jul 18 '17 at 08:59

Inside eqnarray you use 3 & this is the problem.

If you want align at 3 places use alignat tag, see below:

\documentclass{minimal}
\usepackage{amsmath,amssymb}

\newcommand{\expval}{\mathbb{E}}
\newcommand{\var}{\mathrm{Var}}

\begin{document}

\begin{alignat*}{3}
\expval[\mathcal{N}] &= \frac{\rho_0}{\rho_1} ~, &
\var(\mathcal{N}) &= \frac{\rho_0}{\rho_1} + 0.280 \, \frac{\rho_0^2}{\rho_1^2} ~, \\
\expval[\mathcal{L}] &= \frac{\rho_0}{2 \rho_1^{3/2}} ~, &
\var(\mathcal{L}) &= \frac{\rho_0}{\pi \rho_1^2} + 0.147 \,
\frac{\rho_0^2}{\rho_1^3} ~.
\end{alignat*}

\end{document}

Weird error with eqnarray

3 Answers3